Eating Too Much Red and Processed Meats May Get You an Express Ticket to the Bone Yard

Roast beef cooked under high heat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Step away from the hot dog cart and put down that bologna sandwich because you just may be taking years off your life. A team of Swiss researchers have found that eating processed meat increases the risk of an early death by 44 percent. They also found that eating a large amount of red meat in general increased the risk of death from any cause by 14 percent.

They analyzed 448,568 men and women between 35 and 69 years old who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. None of the participants had had cancer, stroke, or a heart attack at the beginning of the study. The researchers had full information on diet, smoking, physical activity and BMI for each participant. The goal of the analysis was to evaluate the association between meat consumption and death from any cause as well as death from specific causes.

There were 26,344 deaths as of June 2009. Here’s what the researchers observed:

Men and women who ate the most red or processed meat consumed fewer fruits and vegetables than those with low meat intake.

The participants who ate the most red/processed meat were more likely to be current smokers and less likely to have a college degree

Men with high red meat consumption drank more alcohol than men with a low consumption

Participants with an intake of 160 grams or more of red meat each day had a 14 percent higher risk of death from any cause than those who ate 10 to 19.9 grams each day

Participants with an intake of 160 grams or more of processed meat each day had a 44 percent higher risk of death from any cause than those who ate 10 to 19.9 grams each day

3.3 percent of deaths could have been prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption of less than 20 grams each day

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One Response to “Eating Too Much Red and Processed Meats May Get You an Express Ticket to the Bone Yard”

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